Bone and antler barbed points form one of the most common categories of finds from the submerged prehistoric
landscape of the North sea, also known as ‘Doggerland’. They are usually found in redeposited sediments
from the off-shore coastal zone. Some 30 years ago a first analysis of these hunting weapons was published,
based on more than 400 finds. Meanwhile their numbers have doubled and verge on 1000, making them one
of the larger artefact groups from this relatively unknown area. Also the number of sites from which these
points derive has increased due to coastal reinforcement and the extension of Rotterdam harbour. Gradually
more information is becoming available that these points can contribute to inter-site distinctions and different
subgroups. While there is a need for further dating and chronological control, this find group, in combination
with for instance characteristic lithic finds and human remains, might in the future provide a better grip on
the communities of hunter-gatherers that inhabited this area. This is of particular importance since within the
spectrum of finds there are two size groups. The smaller points, of a length of up to 88.5 mm, appear to form
a separate group of points in the find spectrum of Western and Northern Europe.
Amkreutz, L.; Spithoven, M.: Hunting beneath the waves. Bone and antler points from North Sea Doggerland off the Dutch coast, in: Gross et al. (edd.), Working at The Sharp End at Hohen Viecheln, Untersuchungen und Materialien zur Steinzeit in Schleswig-Holstein und im Ostseeraum, Vol. 10, pp. 383–404, DOI: 10.23797/9783529018619-16.